Hill School breaks ground on new faculty housing

POTTSTOWN — The official groundbreaking for the Hill School’s East Faculty Village project, which will necessitate the closing of a portion of Green Street, was held Jan. 18.

Construction began earlier this month as crews began site preparation that included work to close Green Street as a portion of that road will become part of a lawn connecting the eight new homes (four duplex) with the rest of campus.

The East Faculty Village homes are slated for completion this summer, with faculty and their families moving into the units prior to the 2013-14 academic year.

Nearly all faculty members at The Hill reside in dormitories and serve as dorm parents or live in homes on campus, assisting and contributing to residential life in a variety of ways: coaching, advising students, and chaperoning weekend events.

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The new East Faculty Village in the Green Street neighborhood on the east end of campus will be integrated with the main campus through extensive walkways and the grand crescent lawn. These essential houses will be spacious, energy-efficient using “green” design components, and equipped with basic modern amenities.

The units will offer dedicated “living and learning” spaces for faculty-student gatherings and tutoring sessions.

On June 30, 2012, The Hill School completed a successful $5.7 million capital campaign to pay for Faculty Village. According to a post on The Hill School’s web site, the campaign received broad financial support from alumni, friends, current faculty and faculty emeriti, and current and past parents of Hill students. The gifts secured during this targeted campaign provided the necessary resources for planning and construction. A formal celebration recognizing all contributions to the project will be held during Hill’s Reunion Weekend in June.

In noting that the village will be home to Hill teaching, coaching and advising “masters,” Headmaster Zachary Lehman recognized efforts of many friends of the school, including former Headmaster David R. Dougherty and his wife, Kay, who worked to make this project a reality.

In an agreement approved by Pottstown Borough Council in June 2008, The Hill agreed to pay $100,000 to the borough to support local economic development initiatives as part of the project.

The Hill, a tax-exempt not-for-profit institution, also agreed to make payments to the borough on the faculty housing units as if they were taxable by the borough for a period of 20 years.

No such tax agreement exists with or was sought by the Pottstown School District, whose revenue losses will be significantly greater.

In addition, The Hill will pay up to $325,000 for repairs and upgrades to Edgewood Street (which runs between High and Beech streets), which will benefit many of the school’s community neighbors. The school also will be responsible for constructing other public improvements directly related to the project and the borough-approved vacation of Green Street which will allow students full, safe access to this area of the campus.